Anonymity
by dees1
Summary: Set in Oct 2017 – With Aaron away in Europe, Liv has no choice to ask for help for her upcoming maths test from the one person she'd rather never speak to again. Spending time with him soon makes her realise that her brother and Robert need to be back together, so she plans to reunite them. But she hadn't counted on the obstacles in her way.
1. Chapter 1

Liv was running out of options and time. She either passed this maths test or ended up in the bottom maths set with people she'd rather not be breathing the same air as on a daily basis.

She loved the Dingles and staying with them whilst Aaron was trekking around Europe had just reinforced her need to be part of such a tight knit family unit. Now here she was resigned to the fact that she would be doomed to failure. Hell, she'd even tried Cain, only to be met with a gruff "Don't have a clue how to do that."

It was then, during her shift at the B&B, that Diane had piped up with what in theory would be the perfect solution, but the most awkward one.

"Surely Robert would be your best bet." Diane commented.

Liv didn't know how to answer. Aaron and she were the only one who knew about the spiked drink incident and it had to stay that way. "It might be difficult with Aaron and him being split up."

"It's only maths, Liv. You're not planning a reunion for them. I thought you and Robert got on. Anyway your brother is somewhere 1000's of miles away, will he even know."

She knew that Diane was right, she needed help and fast, so she headed to the scrapyard. Luck was not on her side when she noticed a familiar dump of a car parked outside – Rebecca's car.

She just took a deep breath and barged in.

"How rude?" Bex announced with her usual sneer. "We're busy."

"I'm here to see Robert, not you. Are you free?" She didn't mean to test him but she wanted to know how he would handle the interruption.

He looked at Bex. "We were all finished here."

Bex wasn't happy at his attention switching to Liv so she turned around in a huff. "Ok, I'll see you later. We can discuss names then."

Liv smirked as she walked past and slammed the door on the way out. "Stroppy much?" She looked at Robert who looked totally distracted.

"Liv, I don't need another dressing down."

"Well, you're not going to get one and to be honest, I'm not going to waste my breath. Basically I have a maths test on Friday and if I don't pass it, I'm going to end up in bottom set with all the losers. I have three days to work out how I'm going to blag my way through the test."

"So how can I help?"

She screwed up her face. "Duh… I need your help to revise."

"Can't the annoyingly handsome doctor help you?"

Liv realised that Robert thought that her brother was still dating Alex but she held back telling him the truth about the relationship not even getting off the ground as she knew he would get all

mopey and distracted. "No, he can't. He's no good at maths."

"I would be happy to help you but I think Aaron will freak out and have a go at me. I don't need that right now."

"You mean with your new life up at the Whites. I heard you were getting all cosy and getting your foot under the table up at Home Farm. They're a totally bunch of freaks… you do know that"

"Liv, this isn't going to work."

She took a seat, thinking for a minute. "Ok, you help me on the maths but we make a deal not to talk about Aaron or the Whites… Deal?" She put her hand out.

He smiled. "You drive a hard bargain but you have a deal."

"For the record, this is purely a business arrangement, I still don't like you."

That comment made him smile even more. "Ok, name a time and a place, I'll be there."

She grinned. "Ok, 4pm at Wishing Well."

"Ok, are you sure I won't get killed if I set foot in there."

"Well, we can always hope, but I don't think I'm that lucky." She punched him playfully on the shoulder.

Robert didn't know what to expect as he headed up to Wishing Well. He looked at the pigs wondering if he would end up with them by the close of the afternoon.

So he was surprised when he was greeted warmly by Lisa.

"Have a seat. Liv's just upstairs grabbing her stuff. She's been really stressed about this test so it's so nice you've come to help."

"Well, I'd do anything for Liv. I mean I messed up so maybe I can put things right with her." He replied, not realising Liv had been listening in from the top of the stairs.

The maths session went as expected, there were arguments and cross words but at the end of the two hours, she was understanding more and more.

"Well, I'm going to need that table." Lisa smiled as she looked over from the kitchen. "Love, why don't you stay for some dinner."

Robert was taken aback by the offer, but strangely he wanted to take her up on it. It took him back to Christmas, the afternoon he'd spent with the Dingles and more importantly, Aaron.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to put you out."

Liv tried to act cool but he could see a small smile on her face at the suggestion of him staying.

Robert was soon tucking into a tasty chicken stew. He loved home cooked food and it was lovely to be surrounded by family, although he was glad that Cain was away for a few days.

They were soon clearing away the table when Liv's phone rang. "It's Aaron, facetiming. Don't let him know you're here." She panicked.

Robert got out of the way and took a seat on the sofa whilst Liv facetimed.

"hey…." She tried not to sound distracted as she greeted her brother. "How are you?"

"I'm good for speaking to you. How's things?" Aaron voiced boomed from her phone.

"I'm ok. Where are you now?"

"Rome for a few days, then up to Austria, Hungary and then Poland."

Robert was amazed at how different he sounded, so carefree and relaxed. He knew he was away in Europe but the details given to him by Vic had been quite sketchy to say the least. He was impressed that he was travelling around seeing places, although he did feel a pang of regret about not being with him.

"That sounds amazing."

"Maybe we can travel a bit next Summer, I'd love to show you some of these places." Aaron suggested, again filling Robert with regret. How amazing would it have been to travel Europe as a family. He'd wrecked it all.

"Sounds awesome." Liv replied excitedly.

"Look, I need to go. The lads are waiting for me. Same time tomorrow night. Love ya." Aaron made a face at her, making her giggle.

Liv disconnected the chat and headed upstairs. "Rob, I'll walk with you to Gabby's. I'm going for a sleepover."

Robert shuffled in his chair looking at Lisa. "Well he sounds like he's having a good time. That doctor must be the perfect tonic."

"What doctor? You mean… Alex." Lisa smiled.

"Yeah Alex." He replied, trying not to sound bitter. "I take it you've met him."

"Why would we?" She asked in confusion. "Aaron wasn't keen on him."

Robert sat up in his chair. "Oh, I didn't know." He replied keeping his reaction to a minimum.

He broached the subject with Liv on the walk back to the village. "Why didn't you tell me that Alex and Aaron weren't together?"

Liv was caught off guard and didn't mean to sound annoyed. "Well, you're not a couple anymore so I didn't think it was any of your business."

"So what happened?" Robert wasn't going to be put off asking more.

"Nothing… happened. He stayed over… on the sofa. Aaron bored him to death with Top Gear reruns. Nothing else to say."

"So it was just the fact they were incompatible?" he asked.

"Yeah something like that." She answered, not wanting to admit that her brother was still hung up on him.

Robert didn't know how to feel about this shock news….


	2. Chapter 2

Robert was sitting the portacabin, having his ear chewed off by Rebecca. All she wanted to talk about were some stupid baby names, for a baby he didn't even want and felt no connection to.

They were interrupted by a text. It was Liv.

Meet me at the Mill at 4pm. Family conference at Dingles so won't get any peace.

He looked at his watch and it was just after 3.30pm. "Look Bex, I need to go."

"What could be more important than baby names?"

"Liv needs help with maths revision and I promised her." He was annoyed that he needed to explain himself.

"Why are you helping her? It's not like she's family anymore."

He snapped. "Thanks for reminding me of that Bex. If I had a choice, I'd still be with Aaron and Liv would still be part of my life."

She retaliated immediately. "This baby is yours too."

"So you keep reminding me although I do get confused why you didn't use protection."

Rebecca was taken aback by his questioning. "That was your responsibility too."

"Was it? I was paralytic, in fact I'm surprised I even managed to father a child the state I was in. Like Liv said, are you sure Ross isn't the dad?"

Bex reacted in her usual way when she was confronted with any accusations about the paternity of her child, she started to high-tail out of the situation. "We've been through this so I'm not going to waste my breath."

"Bex, I want a DNA test."

That made her stop in her tracks. "Why… Is my word not good enough for you?"

"Be honest, even you don't know I'm 100% the dad. This Pete and Cain stuff made me think and I want one. I won't go on the birth certificate until I know and you can get non-invasive tests now during pregnancy so you won't mind if I arranged for one. In fact I can arrange for someone to come and collect the samples tomorrow morning. Say Home Farm at 11am."

"Ok, if that's what you want."

"Bex, I'll step up for this baby 100% but I need confirmation it's mine and Ross deserves to know if it does turn out to be his."

She didn't answer and just left.

Robert grabbed his coat and headed to the Mill.

He felt weird being back, the last time he'd been inside, Aaron had given him short shrift.

Liv smiled as she let him in. "I know it's a tip but I've been hanging out here with Gabby. Mind you, you should've seen it when I came back from Dublin… what a tip. You couldn't move without stepping on a pizza box or Adam." She laughed.

"How is your mum now?"

"She's not doing bad. She'll be back on her feet soon so Chas can come home. Although Chas is seeing this really fit bloke at the minute so she might stay back awhile."

"Well he has to be better looking than Paddy." Robert laughed.

"Yeah but Paddy is really nice, well most of the time." She defended him.

"Listen, talking about boys or men. I heard about you and Gerry. He's a bit old for you.. not that it's any of my business now."

"Nothing happened. He was really nice and looked after me. I can see why Lisa and Zak jumped to conclusions but we're just friends."

"Not your type then?"

She looked sad for a moment and then just vented. "To be honest, I don't think I'll ever have a type."

"What do you mean?" He asked softly.

"I don't fancy anyone, Robert."

"You mean there's no one at school you like."

"No, I mean I'm not interested in anyone or anything. I don't have those type of feelings if you know what I mean." She was bright red.

"You mean, like asexual…" He asked.

"What would you know?"

"I know more than you think. I moved to Manchester years ago just after I left the village and I had this friend, Michelle. She was asexual. But that didn't change her as a person, in fact it was great to have such a close friend without the added complication of it being more. She moved to Australia ages ago. I miss her. Maybe your feelings will develop as you get older but hers never did. No one thought any differently about her… she was still Michelle… just like you'll always be Liv."

She walked up to him and hugged. "Thank you!"

"No need to thank me. Just make me a nice latte with that fancy coffee machine and we can get started. I can put you in touch with Michelle if you want someone to talk to. She's on Facebook, I'll message her for you… if that's what you want of course."

Liv nodded. "That would be great."

They were soon hard at work with maths. This was the last chance Liv would have to pass her test. After two hours, they ordered in takeaway pizza and pushed on for another hour.

Liv slammed the book shut. "I can't take any more in. I'm totally brain dead."

"I know how you feel. Just concentrate on the questions you can do easily before going back and having a go at the others. I think you'll be fine." He smiled as he picked up the last slice of pizza.

Liv's phone buzzed. "It's Aaron. Just stay out of view."

"Hey." Her brother's voice boomed out of her mobile. "Missing you."

"What are you after, Aaron? I'm suspicious when you're nice. Wait don't tell me you're drunk."

Aaron nodded. "You got it, sis. We've been trying out some schnapps. I've only had about five and it's gone straight to my head."

"Where are you?"

"Vienna!"

"Sounds very upmarket for a Dingle." She joked.

"Yeah it is a bit arty-farty but the schnapps is worth it." He giggled, making Robert smile to himself. He remembered what Aaron was like when drunk with the best part being how openly flirty he became.

"We've managed to get tickets to Hofbrauhaus at the Oktoberfest in Munich tomorrow afternoon. How good is that?"

"You might as well be speaking a foreign language, Aaron. What is it?"

"It's basically a big tent where they serve endless amounts of beer. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon and evening. So how are things there? Why are you at home? What about the Dingles?"

"The Dingles are having a family meeting about baby Isaac. I'm revising so needed peace and quiet. I've got that big maths test I told you about last week."

"How's it going? I feel guilty about not being there for you."

"Well we all know maths isn't your strong point so I think I can cope without you." She decided to test the water. "I've had help."

"what from a Dingle?" He was puzzled.

"No, Robert's been helping me revise." She waited for the annoyed reaction.

"That's nice of him. He's good at maths. How is he?" He asked not realising Robert was listening into every word.

"He's here actually if you want to speak to him." Liv didn't give them a choice as she got up and handed her phone to Robert. "Look, why don't you chat to him for a while and I'll speak to you tomorrow. I'll be upstairs."

Robert didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry about this. I didn't put her up to this."

Aaron Smiled. "Hey, I know that, she does things like this. Thanks for helping her. As you know maths and me don't mix well."

"It's ok. So you're having fun by the sound of it."

"yeah the best time ever. I'm going to regret the schnapps later." He smirked.

"No doubt!"

"Look, I need to go. Maybe we could catch up once I'm back in the village. We can compare notes on schnapps and I can buy you a drink to say thanks for helping Liv."

Robert tried not to get too hopeful, he knew Aaron was tipsy so it could turn out to be nothing. "Ok, deal. Have a great time."

"I will. Bye." The call ended…


	3. Chapter 3

The following morning, Robert arrived at Home Farm just before 11am only to be met by an annoyed Lawrence answering the door. "I guess you'd better come in. I can't believe you're questioning my daughter's word."

"Surely you understand more than anyone with Chrissie and everything. Ross could be the dad and I need to know for sure. Anyway, this will take less than ten minutes and we'll know in a few days."

The nurse arrived. "Hello, Mr Sugden. I'm Ann, one of the clinicians. Is Ms White here?"

Rebecca walked downstairs, still looking unimpressed with the idea of the DNA test.

"Ok, I need a swab from dad or possible dad." The nurse's comment was soon picked up by Bex.

"You mean the dad. I can guarantee he is, so might as well get this over and done with. It's a blood test for me, isn't it? I want the results sent here as well. How long will they take?"

"Mr Sugden has paid for the express service so they will be back by Monday. You should receive the results by Tuesday. I'll send a copy here and one to Mr Sugden's residence."

Ann explained how the test worked and took some blood from Bex. She was soon on her way.

"Happy now?" She asked.

"I do appreciate this, Bex. At least the results can put everyone's mind at rest."

"Well your mind anyway." She announced with an air of over-confidence.

"Ok, fair enough. Look I have an important meeting this afternoon." He looked at his watch and headed off in a hurry determined not to put up with Bex's sulks any longer than he needed to.

It was almost 4pm when Aaron and his three travelling companions arrived in Munich, jumping straight in a taxi for the Hofbrauhaus.

Stuart and Mike had rubbed it in all morning about his mega hangover and his inability to handle schnapps. Luckily Richie was a bit more understanding as he was just as hung over

They had managed to find a table in one of the quieter beer tents away from the loud music and Bavarian thigh slapping show taking place on the centre stage. There were only them and a few other sporadic groups dotted around the place.

It was nearing 7pm when Stuart was the first to pipe up. "Aaron, put yourself out of your misery. He's been looking over for the past hour and you haven't exactly been ignoring him. What did he say to you at the bar?" he discreetly pointed over to the man propping up the bar.

Aaron looked coy. "He just said hi and went on about how the beer was amazing."

"He looks lost. Maybe he should join us. This isn't the type of place you should be drinking on your own." Richie joined in the conversation.

Aaron stopped him. "I'm sure he wouldn't be interested."

Richie wouldn't take no for answer, so he got up. He approached the man who had a smile on his face from a text he was reading. "Hi. We couldn't help but notice you drinking by yourself and my friend, Aaron asked me to see if you wanted to join us."

Aaron was looking down at the table, looking totally embarrassed by this turn of events. Mike made sure the man sat next to Aaron.

"Right, I'm Mike, that's Stuart, Richie, and this is Aaron. As you can see he's a bit shy."

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Ben." He smiled at them, before calling over the waitress to order them in a round.

"So what's brought you here?" Stuart asked him.

"I'm actually here on business and thought instead of flying home as usual I would spend the weekend enjoying german culture, or the beer at the very least." He smiled showing off his handsome features even more.

"So what are you all doing here?"

Mike explained how they'd been travelling around Europe for three weeks. "It's been so much fun. Aaron can tell you all about it."

He turned to Aaron.

Aaron could feel heat rising up in his face, although he wasn't sure if that was the embarrassment or by the presence of this new arrival.

"Yeah it's been a blast. I never realised there was so much to see."

Aaron and Ben were soon talking as if they were old friends as the three men watched on.

"Ben, he's never going to ask you if you're gay." Mike was clearly drunk from the non-stop beer.

Aaron just glared at Mike before laughing.

"Actually I'm not gay… I'm bisexual. How about you, Mike?" He turned it back on him.

Aaron couldn't believe how open he was about his sexuality. This was a refreshing change from the past three years of dating.

Mike sat back. "No, we're all straight. Aaron's the only gay in the village so to speak." They all burst into giggles.

"Mike, do you want to be my PA? I'm sure I can speak up for myself."

Ben turned his attention to Aaron but kept his voice down to let the other three get on with their own conversation. "So am I wasting my time?"

"You never know." Aaron flirted back, the beer clearly fogging his head.

"So are you seeing anyone?" He asked Aaron.

"No, I'm single at minute. I've just come out of a long term relationship."

"I thought you would be fighting them off."

Aaron shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Where I live, there's not exactly a lot of action. The last guy that was interested gave up after he found out I liked cars. He was more into Downton Abbey. Never made it past the first date."

"Well, lucky for you, I like cars." The older man replied in a self-assured tone. "I don't suppose you like Top Gear?"

"Yeah I love watching the repeats."

"Me too."

Aaron felt his heart starting to race as the man moved his chair closer. "Tell me if I'm reading too much into this."

Aaron leant forward without realising it, his eyes dropping to the other man's lips. He made the first move. As soon as their lips met, Aaron could feel the familiar rush of electricity, something he hadn't felt in months. It was only now he'd realised how much he'd missed intimacy with someone he was clearly very attracted too. He felt an instant response from the older man as he pushed for more.

After a few minutes and some wolf-whistles from the others, they broke apart.

Aaron suddenly felt a warm breath on his ear as the man whispered in his ear. "I've got a room at the hotel along the road, what do you say we head back for the night."

Aaron could feel the air of anticipation as the man waited for an answer. "Ok, let's go."

He got up, pulling the other man by the hand. "I'm heading off for the night. I'll text you in the morning." He said to the others who were winking knowingly at them both.

The hotel was only a few minutes walk along the main street. They were soon ascending in the lift to one of the upper floors. Luckily there were other people in the lift, otherwise, things could've become very heated.

Aaron could feel his whole body on fire in anticipation of what was about to happen. He was relieved when they finally made it to the right door, although it took almost a minute fumbling between kisses to operate the key card to get the door open. As soon as it opened, they almost fell in as they wasted no time in heading for the bed…


	4. Chapter 4

Liv couldn't believe it. She'd just tried to call Aaron to tell him how her exam went but she couldn't get through to him for the second day running. She'd even resorted to stalking his mates on Facebook. But she soon wished she hadn't.

There was a photo from the previous night of Aaron kissing another man, or perhaps devouring would be a better word. She knew he would be drunk as he wouldn't usually be so forward with someone he barely knew. She couldn't see the man as Aaron's head was blocking out his face.

Aaron woke up with a start as the events of previous night came back to him. He tried to move but the large arm draped around his waist was stopping him. He carefully lifted the arm and managed to squeeze from underneath it.

"Where are you off to?" Asked a sleepy voice.

"Just to the bathroom. Have you got any painkillers? My head is banging." Aaron asked.

"Yeah, in my toilet bag in the bathroom. You are coming back to bed, aren't you?"

"I can't. I need to let the others know where I am. They hadn't decided whether to move on today to Prague or to stay put for a second day of drinking."

"Spend the day with me if the others are staying. I've got the room booked for another night. We could have some more fun."

Aaron smiled, climbing on the bed. "That's a very tempting offer but I need to check in with the lads first. How about you order us some breakfast to eat here and I'll give Mick a call."

"I give you one of the best nights of your life and now you're expecting me to provide breakfast."

"One of the best nights? I've had better." He smirked, the conversation taking him back to the picnic months ago.

"Well, I haven't. It was amazing."

Aaron felt lips on his own. He pulled away after a few moments. "Look, I'm going to make this call and don't get any ideas about swapping clothes this time."

"That was your idea, if I remember rightly." Robert answered with a grin.

They were soon sitting at the table in the room eating breakfast. "So what made you come?" Aaron asked.

"Well… you… obviously. Mind you, I never expected this." He pointed to the very dishevelled bed. "I though you would take one look and tell me to 'do one'"

"Maybe I should've." Aaron smirked.

"But then we wouldn't have had fun role playing with your friends. I couldn't believe it when you texted me with the stranger role play idea."

"Well, you're normally up for it."

"I know… I just didn't expect it. Not that I'm complaining."

"My mates must think I'm so easy. Why don't I introduce you to them? They're a good bunch. So where are you taking me today?" Aaron asked.

"I don't know. I've only been here once. Why don't we go for a walk and some lunch. My flight's booked for Sunday lunchtime."

"You were hopeful?!" Aaron smirked. "What happens if I'd turned you down."

"I would've changed to an earlier one."

Aaron was enjoying his lunch with Robert, they'd spent the last few hours talking about the last three weeks in Europe whilst Robert filled him on the horrible events of the past few weeks and the new couple in town – Charity and Vanessa.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about this but have you stopped spiking Lawrence's drinks? I don't want to know why you're doing it but it can't be good for his health."

Robert looked guilty. "I know, it's stopped now." There was clearly something else that he was not admitting to.

"What else have you done?" Aaron asked knowingly, not totally sure he even wanted to know.

"I…. I've convinced Lawrence that we're a couple. I got into bed with him when he was really drunk and he thinks we slept together."

Aaron buried his head in his hand. "I don't believe this. Why would you even do that?" There was annoyance in his voice.

"I need to make the Whites suffer for what they did to me… to you and me."

Aaron's face changed. "No, you did that to us. You chose to sleep with her."

Robert was on the backfoot immediately trying to defend himself but he knew he couldn't. "I know it was my fault but I thought if I ran the Whites out of town then you might give us another chance." There were tears in his eyes.

"I'm no fan of the Whites, especially Rebecca but she's carrying your son."

"But what if she's not?"

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked, still annoyed but curious.

"Ross could be the dad, she was sleeping with him before and after the night that ruined my life. Maybe it's his."

"Robert, you know you need to stop. I've spent last three months fixing myself and I've worked through my need to hurt people and hit out. Did you ever call a therapist?"

He shook his head. "No, I wasn't in the right headspace. I just want rid of her, I want the problem to go away. I wish I'd never brought her here last year and I am so sorry for the way I acted with her. I shouldn't have used her like I did to help get Andy off." He was breaking down in front of Aaron.

Aaron stood up, making Robert think he was going to walk out on him but instead he held his hand out for Robert to take. "Let's go back to the hotel and talk. We need to clear the air and say everything that needs to be said."

They were soon back at Robert's hotel room, lying on the bed, face to face, having an open and honest discussion about the past year's events.

"Right, tell me everything."

Robert opened up about his motives and revenge plan against the Whites, not leaving out any detail. He hadn't realised how good it would feel to offload to someone, instead of bottling up his hatred.

"You know as well as I do that you need to let this go, not just for them, but for your sanity too. Bottling up this amount of anger won't end well, and I should know. You need to find some other outlet. Have you ever thought that you might feel something for your son when he's born? How are you going to face him in years to come and explain how you destroyed his family?"

"That's what worries me the most, I feel nothing for him. All I can think about is that he's come between you and me."

"Not necessarily." Aaron looked at him. "I've tried to move on… but I couldn't. Alex was the perfect solution, but there was something missing… he wasn't you."

Robert's face softened as he listened to Aaron's words.

"I don't think I'll ever get over you. But I have to decide…. do I want an easier life without you or a messed up one with you? And you know what I'd choose - messed up with you anytime." He leant over and kissed Robert gently.

"Aaron, what are you saying?" There was hope etched across his face.

"I'm saying… we give it another go. Last night proved we still have undeniable feelings for each other."

"You'll give me another chance."

Aaron nodded, but then noticed Robert react in a way, he hoped he wouldn't. Robert reached into his wallet and pulled out the returned wedding ring.

Aaron hated to do it but he had no choice. He refused it. "Robert… no…. not yet. We need time, there's so much to work through and I have conditions if we're going to try again." "Name them. I'll do anything." Robert tried to hide his hurt at the partial rejection.

"Ok, you need to stay away from the Whites unless it's to do with your son and end any ideas of revenge. If the baby is yours, you need to decide whether you want to be involved. It's your choice and I'll support you, whatever you decide. I want to take this slow, we start off as boyfriends, see how it goes. You can't move back in until Liv and I are ready." Aaron explained but there was a glint in his eye. "That doesn't apply to the odd night when I might invite you to stay over."


End file.
